Thoughts on Life, Love, Politics, Hypocrisy and Coming Out in Mid-Life

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Ugly Truth About American War Crimes

As noted before, one of my biggest disappointments with Barack Obama is that he has refused to open the lid on American war crimes and torture that were official policy under Bush/Cheney. The provisions of the Geneva Conventions were knowingly and deliberately ignored and violated and in the process America lost all moral standing to ever criticize other nations for human rights abuses. Worse yet, war criminals such as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been allowed to go free of any consequences. Andrew Sullivan sums the situation up this way:

The country still won’t come to terms with the fact that the US
perpetrated a global campaign of war crimes, torture, dehumanization and
cruelty for seven years, and its impact is still being felt. It is felt
not simply among all those dictators – from the master-torturer, the
King of Jordan, to the Chinese and Russians, beaming broadly, knowing
that the US has now no moral legs to stand on, especially since Obama’s
decision to ignore binding Geneva Convention laws that require
prosecution of the guilty.

But there is a human toll as well: not just among those still living
with PTSD from the brutal torture sessions, but from the perpetrators as
well. Many did so with qualms, under orders; others, given the signal
from the commander-in-chief that torture was now an American value, took
to it with relish and occasionally desperation. One reluctant
participant soldier, just killed himself – yet another one – because he
couldn’t live with what he had actually been ordered by his president to
do.

Sullivan is referring to the suicide of Daniel Somers who was a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In his suicide note, Somers gives an indication that things that were done are far worse than most Americans realize. Somers and others like him simply found it impossible to go on living knowing what they had done under orders. Here are portions of Somers' suicide note via Gawker:

On
June 10, 2013, Daniel wrote the following letter to his family before
taking his life. Daniel was 30 years old. His wife and family have given
permission to publish it.

I am sorry that it has come to this.

The
fact is, for as long as I can remember my motivation for getting up
every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things
have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a
sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is, I am not getting better, I
am not going to get better, and I will most certainly deteriorate
further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to
simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out
in the short term than to drag things out into the long term.

You
must not blame yourself. The simple truth is this: During my first
deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which
is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did
not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort
to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not
come back from. I take some pride in that, actually, as to move on in
life after being part of such a thing would be the mark of a sociopath
in my mind. These things go far beyond what most are even aware of.

To
force me to do these things and then participate in the ensuing coverup
is more than any government has the right to demand. . . . . And for what? Bush’s religious lunacy? Cheney’s ever growing
fortune and that of his corporate friends? Is this what we destroy
lives for

The fact is that any kind of ordinary life is an insult to those
who died at my hand. How can I possibly go around like everyone else
while the widows and orphans I created continue to struggle?

Bush and Cheney in their megalomania and religious insanity simply did not care what was done to others. The same holds for many in the "Christian" Right who view non-Christians as not even human. And, apparently, Obama is little better. How else to explain his refusal to see that war criminals be brought to justice. Americans need to know the horrors done in their name. By doing nothing, we all end up with blood on our hands. I find myself less than proud to be an America as any decent moral person should be.

Translate This Page

Contact Me to Order Title Work

LGBT Legal Services

About Me

Out gay attorney in a committed relationship; formerly married and father of three wonderful children; sometime activist and political/news junkie; survived coming out in mid-life and hope to share my experiences and reflections with others.
In the career/professional realm, I have merged my aw firm - Michael B. Hamar, P.C. - with Dillon Law group PLC and become affiliated with Liberty Title & Escrow Co.. I practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Advanced Medical Directives, Financial Powers of Attorney, Durable Medical Powers of Attorney); business law and commercial transactions; formation of corporations and LLC's; and legal services to the gay, lesbian and transgender community, including birth certificate amendment.

Disclaimer on Opinions and Content

This Blog contains content that may be innapropriate for readers under the legal age of 18. IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, PLEASE LEAVE NOW. Thank you

This is an opinion and commentary blog and the opinions and contents of this Blog - including opinions expressed concerning opponents of LGBT equality - are the opinions only of the individual blogger and should not be attributed to any other individuals or to any organization of which the blogger is a past or current member.

Followers

Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. If you own rights to any of the images or articles, and do not wish them to appear on this site, please contact Michael-in-Norfolk via e-mail and they will be promptly removed. Michael-in-Norfolk contains links to other Internet sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience and are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information or content in such site has been endorsed or approved by this blog.